Who said you can't do a road trip in Hawaii?

[bakubo]

Who said you can't do a road trip in Hawaii? Last week we drove all the way around the island and spent the night in various places:

2 nights Hilo
1 night Hawi
2 nights Kailua
1 night Volcano
1 night Hilo

The trip was grueling since I drove a whopping 605 miles/968 kilometers in 7 days. Not exactly like the 2009 road trip of 9 weeks and 12,600 miles/20,160 kilometers; 1999 road trip of 9 weeks and 12,500 miles/20,000 kilometers; or the many 3-6 week road trips of 3,000 to 7,000 miles. All on the U.S. mainland though. 605 miles is a major road trip in Hawaii and you have to be on the Big Island to do it!

If you want to take a look I have a few photos in the Hawaii gallery:

http://www.bakubo.com/Galleries%202/index.html

A couple of Shaka guys working at a little country store where we got a sandwich



Akaka Falls



Honu (Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle)

[Wildieswife]

Wonderful. What I said on your pano - I want to go there! I like the shutter speed on the waterfall - not too 'detergent foam' - you can still tell it's water but it has a sense of movement, too.

Pat

[bakubo]

Wonderful. What I said on your pano - I want to go there! I like the shutter speed on the waterfall - not too 'detergent foam' - you can still tell it's water but it has a sense of movement, too.

Thanks, Pat. It was a fun trip. My wife's parents are here for a visit and since we had not been to the Big Island we decided to take them there. I have been to Maui twice and Kauai once, but we are also thinking of going to Kauai with them next week for a few days.

[Birma]

Lovely pictures Henry, I especially like the turtle.

Your road trip distances sound like they would suit the UK, but certainly not as impressive as your US trips The old saying that "it is better to travel than to arrive" makes most sense on this type of trip.

[Greg Beetham]

Some good photos there Henry, lots of interesting places to see, the wood carvings-totems and what looks like an old fort. I wondered how active that steaming volcano crater was although it doesn’t look too dangerous at the moment.
The Turtles were interesting, it seems it might be egg laying time for them maybe, I’ve always been fascinated by what means the Turtles managed to survive the Cretaceous extinctions when other more dominant Marine critters didn’t.
Greg
Ps. Great to see you didn’t become ‘LOST’ at some stage.

[bakubo]

Lovely pictures Henry, I especially like the turtle.

Honu are all around the Hawaiian Islands aka Sandwich Islands. I used to swim in the ocean everyday in Waikiki and many times they would surface near me, often only 1-3 meters away. Once I ran right into one that surfaced about 40-50cm in front of me. Head about the size of an American football.

Your road trip distances sound like they would suit the UK, but certainly not as impressive as your US trips The old saying that "it is better to travel than to arrive" makes most sense on this type of trip.

Yes, on a road trip it is the journey, often more than the destinations, that is so important.

By the way, here is a panorama I made also last week on the Big Island:



Here is a larger version:

http://www.bakubo.com/panoramas/hawaii_hilo_pano.jpg

[bakubo]

Some good photos there Henry, lots of interesting places to see, the wood carvings-totems and what looks like an old fort.

That is the Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park:

Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park is a United States National Historical Park located on the west coast of the island of Hawaiʻi in the U.S. state of Hawaiʻi. The historical park preserves the site where, up until the early 19th century, Hawaiians who broke a kapu (one of the ancient laws) could avoid certain death by fleeing to this place of refuge or puʻuhonua. The offender would be absolved by a priest and freed to leave. Defeated warriors and non-combatants could also find refuge here during times of battle. The grounds just outside the Great Wall that encloses the puʻuhonua were home to several generations of powerful chiefs.

http://www.nps.gov/puho/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pu%CA%BBuh ... rical_Park

I wondered how active that steaming volcano crater was although it doesn’t look too dangerous at the moment.

Kīlauea is always oozing lava and from time to time has eruptions:

http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C4%ABlauea

The Turtles were interesting, it seems it might be egg laying time for them maybe, I’ve always been fascinated by what means the Turtles managed to survive the Cretaceous extinctions when other more dominant Marine critters didn’t.

Green sea turtles, known in Hawaii as honu, are one of the few species on the planet so ancient that they swam alongside dinosaurs during the Jurassic period.

http://www.myhawaiitraveler.com/My-Hawa ... ient-Ones/

[bakubo]

We just got back on Thursday from 5 days on the Hawaiian island of Kauai (oldest island). This trip and the earlier one on the Big Island (youngest island) was not much about photography, but I did have a chance to take a few photos. You can see some in the Hawaii gallery here:

http://www.bakubo.com/Galleries%202/index.html

Here is a panorama I made of the Hanalei Valley of taro fields:



Larger version:

http://www.bakubo.com/panoramas/kauai_pano.jpg

Kilauea Lighthouse



Hanalei Valley of taro fields



Opaeka'a Falls

[Greg Beetham]

Very pretty Henry, I had a look at the pan before too, great shot. (I haven’t got a clue what a Taro is)
Greg
Ps I suppose the ‘LOST’ I mentioned before was lost on you?

[bakubo]

Very pretty Henry, I had a look at the pan before too, great shot. (I haven’t got a clue what a Taro is)

Taro:

http://www.aloha-hawaii.com/hawaii/taro/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taro

Ps I suppose the ‘LOST’ I mentioned before was lost on you?

Sorry, yes, I guess it was. Maybe the TV show? I never saw it, but now that you mention it I have heard of it.

[bakubo]

This is Unko's Kitchen in Hanapepe, Kauai. I wonder if Unko is a man or a woman? By the way, unko means feces in Japanese.

[pakodominguez]

I think the hard thing will be doing a road trip TO Hawaii...
When I see you pics I think it will be the best place to take my better half for holidays, but when I think about how long it will take from NYC... but one day I'll come to have coffee with you

[Almazar80]

Very nice images of what sounds like a fantastic trip. Have you done day trips in Maui or Kauai? It would probably last three days or less, though some driving, I suppose, can be rather tricky.

[bakubo]

I think the hard thing will be doing a road trip TO Hawaii...

Yes, a road trip to Hawaii is not all that practical.

When I see you pics I think it will be the best place to take my better half for holidays, but when I think about how long it will take from NYC... but one day I'll come to have coffee with you

Sounds good! Let me know if you get out this way. While on the Big Island we drank Kona coffee several times and while on Kauai we drank Kauai coffee several times. They have coffee plantations on both islands.

It is a fairly long flight from NYC. I just checked and generally under 11 hours to Honolulu and under 10 hours going back. I am so used to flying though that those seem like short flights. For example, my most recent trip was something like 42 hours to Kathmandu and then about 38 hours going home. I certainly don't like flying though.

[bakubo]

Very nice images of what sounds like a fantastic trip. Have you done day trips in Maui or Kauai? It would probably last three days or less, though some driving, I suppose, can be rather tricky.

Day trips to the other islands just aren't all that practical or worthwhile, I think. For example, the flight to Kauai was only about 20 minutes, but the airport and flying hassles were just as much as a long flight. A real pain in the butt and very time consuming. Also, you need a rental car on the other islands so that takes time too. You have to get the car and then later in the day return it. I would say you need a minimum of 1 night to make it worth the trouble and for me even 1 night is not worth it.

I went to Maui in 1984 and 1989, but haven't been back since then. Until last week the last time I had been to Kauai was 1989 too.